The Good & The Bad From BYU's Dominant Victory Over UCF

BYU dominated UCF in the Boca Raton Bowl on Tuesday night.

BYU put an exclamation point on the 2020 season with a dominant victory over UCF in the Boca Raton Bowl. Here is the good and the bad from BYU's convincing 49-23 win on Tuesday night.

The good

• BYU took only five plays to go 87 yards and score a touchdown on the first drive of the game. Zach Wilson punched it in on a 15-yard QB draw.
• After dropping an interception on first down, BYU's defense forced a three-and-out and got the ball back to BYU's offense. Troy Warner made the pass breakup on third down.
• On the second drive of the game, BYU ran a reverse flea flicker that created a wide open Isaac Rex. Wilson hit him in stride for the 37-yard touchdown. BYU took a 14-0 lead with 11:10 left in the first quarter.
• On the first two drives for BYU, Zach Wilson had 121 passing yards on 6 attempts.
• BYU needed some help with a major drop by UCF, but BYU's defense got two stops on the first two UCF drives. BYU's defense did an amazing job in the first half.
• UCF was driving in BYU territory when Zac Dawe got a TFL on fourth down to force a turnover on downs. Dawe has been very good for BYU this season.
• After UCF turned the ball over on downs, Zach Wilson evaded pressure and found Lopini Katoa out of the backfield who ran for 34 yards.
• Zach Wilson took a QB power into the endzone for his second rushing touchdown of the the first quarter, and his third total touchdown of the quarter. BYU led 21-0 at the end of the first quarter.
• Pepe Tanuvasa played at the line of scrimmage against UCF. He had a nice TFL and he drew a holding penalty at the same time.
• BYU pieced together a beautiful drive that ended with a 27-yard passing touchdown from Zach Wilson to Isaac Rex. BYU went 68 yards in 7 plays.
• Zach Wilson had 249 passing yards and four total touchdowns in the first quarter and a half of play.
• Connor Pay filled in for Joe Tukuafu at center who was filling in for James Empey. Pay looked great in his first career snaps - he looked like the center of the future for BYU.
• After giving up a long touchdown drive, BYU's defense took the field and held UCF once again. BYU's secondary was really great coverage on that drive and throughout most of the game.
• What a throw on the run by Zach Wilson and diving catch by Lopini Katoa. One of the best catches I've ever seen from a running back.

Zach Wilson capped off a fifth touchdown drive in the first half with an incredible throw to Neil Pau'u. Zach Wilson had 330 passing yards in the first down - BYU took a 35-7 lead.

• BYU took a 35-10 into the locker room with 434 yards of offense compared to UCF's 227 yards. Zach Wilson was perfect in the first half.
• BYU's defense deserves a lot of credit for their performance in the first half. They gave up some yards, but they held a very dangerous UCF offense to only 10 points.
• BYU's defense forced a three-and-out on UCF's first drive of the second half.
• On the second play of the BYU's first drive in the second half, Tyler Allgeier took it to the house from 37 yards out. Allgeier's touchdown run gave BYU a 42-10 lead.
• BYU's defense forced a second three-and-out in as many tries in the second half. BYU's defense was terrific on Tuesday night.
• BYU poured it on with another quick touchdown in the third quarter to take the 49-10 lead. Gunner Romney took a jet sweep in for a six yard touchdown.
• On a fourth down, Troy Warner had a fantastic  PBU to force a turnover on downs.

• Max Tooley had a filthy tackle on punt coverage at the start of the fourth quarter. Tooley is a star in the making for BYU - his closing speed is elite.

• BYU's rushing attack put the game put the game away in the second half. Tyler Allgeir finished with 173 yards on 19 carries and Lopini Katoa finished with 111 total yards.
• BYU handed UCF their first loss of more than 10 points for the first time in 48 games:

The bad

• On the first play of the game, BYU dropped a Dillon Gabriel pass that should have been intercepted. It didn't matter much, as BYU would force a punt only two plays later.
• On the second drive of the game, a broken coverage left a UCF wide receiver wide open. He dropped it, but it should have been a touchdown. Besides a play here or there, it's was really hard to fault BYU's defense. They played excellent against UCF.
• Tristen Hoge went down with a nasty-looking knee injury in the second half. We wish Hoge the very best - he has given so much to BYU during his career and is hoping to find a spot in the NFL next season.

You probably noticed that our site looks a little different. It is currently under construction and the commenting capability is turned off. While we work on some exciting updates to improve experience, you can ask us questions through one of our social media channels:

Facebook - @BYUSportsIllustrated

Twitter - @SI_BYU and Casey Lundquist at @casey_lundquist

Instagram - @BYU_SI